Microsoft's much-awaited affordable surface hybrid laptop has finally arrived. The Redmond-based tech giant is simply referring to the device as the Surface 3.

Well, the Surface 3 is being called the thinnest and lightest Surface tablet ever made. Basically the Surface 3 should be looked as a cheap alternative to the company's Surface Pro 3, which starts at $799 (Rs. 50,400).

"It runs full Windows, including desktop applications. It includes a one-year subscription to Office 365 to help you really get down to work. And it starts at just $499", Microsoft Surface corporate vice president Panos Panay said in a statement.

Panay said the "Surface 3 will also include a free one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal, including full versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote as well as 1 TB of OneDrive storage."

In terms of specifications, the Surface 3 is powered by an Intel processor, unlike the ARM-based chip in the Surface 2. It features a quad-core Atom x7 processor, 10.8-inch 1920x1280 HD full touch screen, and comes with two 1080p cameras, including a rear-facing 8 megapixel camera and a 3.5 megapixel front-facing camera.

The newly announced Surface 3 also features a full-size USB 3.0 port, a microSF card reader, and a micro USB charging port. Microsoft promised 10 hours of battery life.

The Surface 3 is likely to be targeted at those on tighter budgets such as students. It runs Windows, including desktop apps. The device is likely to give a tough competition to the Apple iPad Air 2, which remains a popular tablet in the market.

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